Alterity

The bright spot came three weeks ago at Ripon, where Alterity claimed its maiden victory on July 6th. There is something encouraging about a horse that gets the job done at a track it evidently suits. Ripon has proved its happy hunting ground: it has won one of three races contested there, a win rate of one in three — a marked improvement on its overall form. This suggests that if the colt runs well over the right ground and at the right track, better days lie ahead.

Alterity is trained by Charlie Johnston at Middleham Moor in North Yorkshire, a yard running at the sharp end of the season with 131 winners already sent out. The horse performs best over distances between one mile one furlong and one mile two furlongs, winning one of three races at that trip. Whether it can string together consecutive victories and move up the grades remains to be seen, but it has given its the yard reason for optimism. At three years old, it is still learning the game, and the Ripon win suggests it has the ability to find the winners' circle again.